George and the Dragon (2004) - a Movie Review

George and the Dragon is a fantasy/action-adventure starring James Purefoy as George and Piper Perabo as Princess Luma. George, a knight for the Crusades, returns home in search of a plot of land and a simpler less violent life. But upon returning home, he encounters marauders, a missing princess, and dragons. Warning: my movie review contains plot spoilers.

I rented the movie with the expectation of an average direct to video B movie. George and the Dragon is far from average. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. It is a great story with an above average cast and great special effects. George and the Dragon is light-hearted, funny, and low on violence. The movie did remind me of a kid's movie but as an adult I enjoyed it none the less.

George returns from the Crusades and parts ways with his good friend Tarik, played by Michael Clark Duncan. George wants a quiet life and Tarik is looking for adventure. George heads home in search of a small plot of land. George learns that a Princess is missing and the king promises George a piece of land if he finds the missing Princess. Gareth, played by Patrick Swayze, is also on the hunt for Princess Luma since she is his intended bride. Of course Gareth is not as nice as he seems to be and only wants to marry the princess for control of the kingdom.

Princess Luma is kidnapped by a female dragon, probably for food for her yet-hatched offspring but Princess Luma becomes attached to the egg and protects it from invaders after the dragon mother disappears. George quickly finds Princess Luma and after much cajoling agrees to help her protect the dragon egg, etc. On their quest to protect the egg, George and Princess Luma fall in love, save the dragons from extinction, and plan their next adventure.

Patrick Swayze was a nice surprise. He was excellent as the conceited Gareth with designs on taking over the kingdom. Of course his character is a jerk so I cheered when the mother dragon ate him at the end. That was my favorite part of the movie because at that point the audience is under the impression that George killed the dragons so it was a nice surprise when you see George spared their life and in return the mother dragon saves Georges life. Ahhh, how sweet. Of course I knew the dragons weren't dead because otherwise the happy ending would have been impossible. It was a little easy to read the plot but it was still fun to watch.

Another funny surprise was a brief cameo from Val Kilmer. I actually had to rewind the tape because I couldn't believe it was actually Val Kilmer but yep he is in the movie. Either he was desperate for any roll (even a two minute roll) or he is best friends with the director. He was actually very cute in his small roll. Why doesn't he act anymore?

In summary, George and the Dragon is a light-hearted adventure perfect for all ages. I give the movie 4 out of 5 stars. The movie does start out slow but if you stick with it, you will find a nice entertaining movie.